Another reason I want to help others...I have chronic pain, so I know what it feels like.
Pain makes couch potatoes! I know, b/c I used to be one. I've had my days from laying around.
I mean, I walked and jogged a little back in the day and as I got into my mid 20s, I was able to afford to go to the gym, so I did. But I was always in pain.
Even in high school, I was in pain...all the time. My body was never the same after I had a terrible bout of MONO my junior year of high school.
Growing up, my sister and I were always so active...we even did basketball camps, etc. in middle school. I loved track and field when I was in the 6th grade. Our parents had us in tap dance and acrobats, etc. They took us camping and hiking all the time. We were always camping at the beach too. They even let us take swim lessons and join the pool membership every summer! We rode our bicycles around everywhere as a kid! I even remember one summer when Mom enrolled me and Gayle (my twin sister) into an aerobics class...it was a summer long class on the weekend.
In high school, it all stopped. I got lazy or got in the wrong crowd.
My freshman year of college, i lived on campus and had no car. I had to walk everywhere! I even worked out at the campus gym and even took body sculpting classes. I went camping and hiking that year some. After that, I turned 21 and could legally drink and party. So I did. My exercise turned into going to raves and dancing from 11pm to 11am the next day! I was really good at dancing. Glow sticks and all! Hahahaha Seriously, I was good at it. It was aerobic too. I always remember my knees hurting all the time from dancing. My favorite room was the break dancing...and drumb and bass. I always wanted to learn how to break dance but never did. I was also not taking care of my body though...eating terrible back then and not getting enough rest!
At age 25, I was settled down by now, out of college and working. I was sort of a couch potato, but i still liked to power walk and go out occasionally to club. I started meeting some people who were active, and I wanted to get out more. But I would hurt all the time. It would make me just want to lay in bed. I finally went to a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with FMS. He told me that most people with FMS are usually disabled by their 30s. He wrote me a prescription for some Flexeril and told me to take advil.
When he diagnosed me, I didn't even understand FMS. No one did. They still don't really. At least they know more about it now. I started my own research. That was when I joined a gym for the first time. I was 26.
I was tired of hurting. I was tired of the way I was living and tired of my boring life! I was existing and that was it.
I have also in the course of several years sought some therapy. Getting to the root of emotional issues also helps. A lot of pain is brought on by emotional problems.
I used to just lay around all the time, because it hurt to move. Now it hurts when I lay around. I want to move constantly. Hell, if it is gonna hurt on a couch, why not just get up and move? Moving is better.
I have gone back through and read a lot of my old blog posts here. Wow! I sure have come a long way. I also found some old posts where I wrote about how I didn't know what my purpose was here in life and how I felt confused as to what my calling was.
I can look back at all the people I have met along this journey since I decided to change my course, and I have met some really inspiring people. People who inspired me to want and go get a better life!
Oddly enough, here I am going back to school now. Wow!!!
I doubt that pain really makes couch potatoes! I am quite sure it is the other way around now!
